As a avid driver, and a person who loves to punish my speed on the street and at the track, I’m always looking for parts that help me in any way possible.
Being able to test the short shifter, got me excited, because anyone who has ever tried to drag race at the track knows, the 1-2 shift is the most crucial shift. Having used several different short shift plates, and driven gen1 and gen2 speeds with full replacements, I always felt there could be room for improvement. The short shift plates I have used in the past, no matter how much I adjusted the cables, would either cause gear grinds, or lock me out at high rpm during a flat foot shift. The full replacements, were set too low and too close, causing me to hit my pinky finger against the ashtray lid.
With this shifter, I can set it where I want it, both with the height, and with the throw. I love how it feels going into every gear, no matter how fast I shift, or just cruising around. The night I installed this, I took it out for a test to see how well it would perform. The first thing I noticed right away was how there was no longer any play, or shifter slop. And then taking it all the way thru 3rd to 7200rpm, I flat footed with zero issues. This thing is a winner. I’m confident that when I track next weekend, it will give me a bit of an advantage over the stock shifter, and those crucial 1-2 shifts will be on point. I’ve let several of my friends drive it with it installed, and everyone loves it. It’s a great product, and in my opinion there is no comparison to the TWM full replacement. At more than half the cost, it’s a no brainer.
Anyways, I will keep you informed on how it performs at the track next weekend, even though I know it will perform flawlessly.
Sincerely,
A CorkSport Custoemr
Customer Review – Mazdaspeed Adjustable Short Shifter August 7th, 2014CorkSport
CorkSport is pleased to announce the CorkSport Adjustable Shortshifter for the Mazdaspeed 3.
CorkSports Adjustable Shortshifter was designed to adjust your shift throw by up to 35% shorter than the plastic OEM shaft to allow for faster and more efficient shifting.
With two ways of adjustability, you can tailor the shift position by adjusting the height of the shift knob within a range of 4 inches and adjusting the distance of your shift throw. As a direct OEM replacement and maintaining OEM fitment, after installation you can opt to use the OEM Mazda shift knob or go for an aftermarket shift knob.
This is a great mod if you have a 6 speed manual transmission, you can install it yourself and you will clearly enjoy the new feel of the adjusted throw of your shift.
If you have a standard Mazda 3 or SkyActiv model call our sales team to be on our beta test team.
The CorkSport Mazdaspeed 3 Adjustable Shortshifter is available now!Order yours today!
If you could get any part that you have ever wanted what would you ask for? There is a good chance that your dream accessories or features haven’t been developed yet and you are just waiting for that moment when someone releases it. So, if you could ask engineers to make anything for your car, what would it be?
Bigger turbos for the Mazdaspeed? Turbo Kits for the Mazda 3?
Let your mind wander and think of some wild creative ideas. With the latest technologies available, its not too hard to try and stretch past our current capabilities.
So what would you want? Heads Up Display (HUD), upgraded fuel injectors, new style front bumper kit or maybe something in carbon fiber?
Nothing is too far fetched. Want to turn you Mazdaspeed 3 into an RV so you can go camping? How about a bolt on submarine car conversion? Or maybe just a new Intake Manifold.
The 2014 SCCA Majors race season kicked off for the west coast at Autoclub speedway which most people know as that place they race Nascar and Indycar in California. What most people do not know is the track also runs an infield circuit aka sports car course which the SCCA uses for events.
The fun thing about Autoclub is I have never raced there before so all I had to familiarize myself was watching youtube videos of people running the track. I had to skip the Friday practice and qualifying so my first time on the track was the second qualifying for 15 minutes on Saturday morning. I was careful to make sure I was behind the other 2 B-Spec cars which were attending the event so I could follow them to #1 and get a measure of their speed and #2 see how they were taking lines on the track to use later.
If you have never driven on an oval before it is crazy at the angle you sit at on the actual oval sections of the track. You mind say you will slide down the track if you are not moving. When you are at race speed you have to tell yourself that you will not slide up the track doing over a 100 in a corner.
For the first race I qualified 2nd and was a Mazda 2 sandwich between the Honda fits. At the start of the race both Honda jumped in front of me but I was able to pass 1 of the cars to get back behind the faster red car. I had paced the 1st place for for a few laps and I found sections where I was faster and could make up time against him. The race was going to be 13 laps based on the time we had for the event so on lap 11 I got a great run at the Honda and passed him on the corner of the oval to take the lead. I was able to hold him off for 2 laps to take the first win of the season for CorkSport and Mazda. During that race I also happen to set a new B-Spec track record at 2:09.8 which put me on the pole for Sunday’s race.
On Sunday I was able to jump out in front at the start and keep both of the Hondas behind me for the duration of the race to take the second win of the weekend.
The next Majors event was at Inde Motorsport Ranch in Willcox Az. Willcox is about 1 hour east of Tucson which is the middle of nowhere. The track there was incredible to race on and very technical in contrast to Autoclub where HP rules aka Inde is a great B-Spec track.
Saturday started out with a quick practice session with a mixed group of the really fast cars aka GT1 etc and the slower cars aka B-Spec etc. When you drop the really fast cars with the slow cars it becomes and exercise in watching your mirrors at all times to not get run over which I happen to excel at based on previous races. I learned that the race was going to be won or lost on the exit speed of corner #1-2 on to the main straight. You mess that up you will find yourself behind by seconds by the time you hit the end of the straight. After a quick qualifying session I found myself in 2nd by a few hundredths of a second behind once again the red Honda fit. The race started off like they normally do with the first lap chaos which saw a STU class RSX hit a H Production Spitfire and spin him out in the middle of corner #2 right before the straight which caused everyone to take some evasive moves. Both Honda fits were able to put a few cars between them and myself. I slowly worked around cars and was able to pass the black fit to start working on running down the red car.
By lap #16 I had caught up the red fit when the 1 to go sign came out which meant I had to get past him now. On the main straight I was able to get right up on the fit and close up with some late braking into #7. Right at that point two faster STU class cars caught up and dropped right into the corner on top of us. There was a BMW Z3 who went into the corner too fast and I had to drive off the track to avoid getting hit.
My re-entry onto the track and the guilty BMW
I was able to catch back up to the BMW in the corners but the two faster cars were not able to get around the Honda fit to give me a chance to catch him before the finish so I had to settle for second place (I was not a happy driver).
I caught up to the “faster car” that ran me off 2 corners later
Determined to not let that on track experience ruin my weekend I focused on where I could improve my times by looking at the data from my Aim Solo DL. There were several spots on the track that could be better so I focused my energy on the one spot which would give me the most benefit for the next day.
On Sunday there was a short practice session which I went out on and I was able to turn a fast lap which I was happy with and could count on making myself competitive for the race with.
The race was full of adventures as they always are and in the end I came out in first place. Instead of making you watch a 7 minute full race video check out the condensed version with the highlights above. There is plenty of good stuff.
With the three first place finished and 1 second I am in the lead for the Western Majors Conference for B-Spec for the year. The next two events are in April at Thunderhill in willows California and two weeks later at Button Willow. Both of those tracks I have experience at and there is rumored to be 3 new cars to race against in B-Spec. If anyone is near one of those tracks we always welcome customers and friends of CorkSport to stop by the track and say hello. Feel free to contact me if this is something you think you would like to do.
New Product Release – Mazdaspeed 3 Silicone Intake Elbow
The Mazdaspeed 3 Silicone Intake Elbowis a great upgrade to dress up your engine bay, replacing the accordion style plastic oem tube. For those people with a 2007-2013 Mazdaspeed that want that fine look to clean up their engine.
– Mazdaspeed 3 Silicone Intake Elbow –
This is a simple and direct replacement of the OEM accordion style tube allowing for smoother airflow and easy fitment.
Custom formed for perfect fitment: The CorkSport Mazdaspeed 3 Silicone Intake Elbow has been designed to be a clamp-in replacement for the stock non-reinforced rubber hose.
Air Flow: Protects the cooler intake air from the engine bay and allowing for smoother air flow.
Six Layer Silicone Part: Contains five layers of reinforcement for a strong yet flexible connection that will not deteriorate over time and crack like the conventional stock rubber hose.
Available in three color options: Complete the look of your engine bay by matching the hose color to your other CorkSport silicone connectors and boost tubes.
CorkSport Service and Support: Receive full color installation instructions, all of the needed installation hardware, and knowledgeable telephone support.
